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I have decided to start a diary to both motivate myself and record achievements (and errors) in my journey to debt free-ness. First off, some may notice on the original thread that the debt figure has increased to what I originally posted. Hold off on the wagging fingers people, I haven't spent more on credit, I had simply put what was left to pay on my loan account and missed off adding in the other debts (it's been edited to reflect the true figure now). This hasn't changed my debt free target date (I simply read the wrong line of my spreadsheet)

Anyway, to the figures. Debts remaining as of 27/3/2019:HSBC personal loan: £21,212.36p Barclaycard: £3432.24p (currently on a 0% deal and aiming to clear before the end of this)HSBC Advance Overdraft: £800
Total Debt Remaining: £25,444.60p

As I said in the original thread, this figure has come down from around £30,000 (I don't have exact figures because my new-found organisational prowess had not yet developed, not that it matters too much now).
Now the rambling. After the fantastic advice received from various posters (in particular Sanctioned Parts List, shout out ) I have decided to curtail the emergency fund saving and use the money to pay down debts instead. The Barclay card has a £4000 limit so there is a buffer there in the event of an emergency. in the event of no emergency, the debt is paid quicker. MATHS!
This diary will be about facts, figures and general ramblings to keep myself motivated and on track. Comments are most welcome, and if anyone spots me being financially stupid or has suggestions to make this process better, please feel free to speak up and chastise/congratulate/educate.

Today: After a late rise after night shift, and several strong coffees, have sat down and worked through online banking and spreadsheets. The spreadsheets match the bank to within 2p WIN DW salary is paid tomorrow so have "tidied" what's left in the spends account and paid the princely sum of £11.66 towards the Barclaycard. Tomorrow will pay another £50 off the overdraft (they only let you reduce in a minimum of £50 increments ). The budget is set for the next 2 weeks (until I get paid again) and all is looking positive. My payday is when most of the DFW action happens so tune in then for more edge of the seat, debt busting action!

Todays ramblings: Is it sad that I eagerly await wages? Not to spend, spend, spend anymore, but to pay another chunk of debt off and watch the spreadsheet figure tumble? It's become almost like a game now. Since the LBM I have a different view of life. I now see that having the latest of everything is actually pointless for the most part. For example, part of the long standing debt is an iPhone from years ago. I "had" to have it. The phone is long dead but the debt is still there, bundled amongst the other pounds borrowed for instant gratification. I spent last Saturday playing with the kids in the sunshine and had free cake (with vouchers) and made a homemade "takeaway" for tea. Total spend £0 (aside from the obvious shopping bill earlier in the month but let's not get picky ). We had a fantastic day and the memories and photographs from such a simple thing will last forever. Maybe our parents weren't old and boring, maybe, just maybe, they were right all along...……...

Updated my signature and worked out how much we've paid off in percentage terms. 17.51% in 2 months
Obviously the majority of that comes from nabbing the headline rate of 3.3% with FD for the loan, but however it came about, we owe 17.51% less than we did 2 months ago. Very, very pleased
Money saving is having a positive effect on our efforts to help the environment too. With only shopping with a list, for what we need, we're producing less food waste (less waste in general) and our bin is now barely full every two weeks, instead of being overflowing and packed in. We're making as conscious effort to recycle everything we can too. The kerbside collections really help with this. Drying washing outside (when possible ) is reducing electric use. Eco settings on the dishwasher and washing machine do this too. Using the car a LOT less has obvious benefits for the planet and our health too. So, spend less money, get healthier, look after the planet more. Win, win situation. You heard it here first people, budgeting is good for the planet

Been MIA on here lately. This is due to a) working lots of O/T shifts (knackered now, but will be worth it when it all comes in) and b) the weather is too nice to be sat in on the PC

Today is the payday I've been waiting for. Bonus month and, finally, the overdraft is no more. Gone, kaput, see ya later
Had some form of OD in various amounts for the last 10 years so this is huge for us. Not the biggest debt, but it's gone. Very happy bunny today
I've also paid a large chunk off the CC with the leftover "snowball" money from the OD, on top of the minimum, so this has come down by quite a bit too. All the OD payments will be diverted to this from now on, so, hopefully, this will be gone by September (sooner with overtime, although I'm not one for working too much overtime unless it's necessary. You can't buy back time).

I often speak of the mental side of debt, as it intrigues me, but until the last few days I hadn't considered how the weather can affect mental wellbeing. With the weather being so glorious the last few days, I've felt very happy, contented and generally calm. It got me thinking, that it can only be the weather. Nothing else has changed, and if anything, I've worked more with the overtime shifts so should really be more tired. Anyway, long may it last. Financially, everything is positive, life is good and we're on the way to being debt free soon (ish). We've spoken of longer term plans and agree that once debt free, we should be planning to secure our long term future (pensions, savings etc.). Very calming to know we're on the same page and agree that we need to be balanced between living life now and preparing for the future.

I suppose one advantage of being in debt (if there is such a thing) is that we've never actually lived off my full wage and we've still been able to have fun times, enjoy life and not worry TOO much about money (well, I have but I generally am a worrier ). This means that once the debts are gone, we've never actually had the extra cash to get used to before, so in theory we should be able to increase our fun budget slightly and still be able to save for the future (pensions, savings, emergency fund etc).

Anyway, enough rambling. Off to enjoy the glorious sunshine before a night shift (although i may have to burn a days leave if it gets much hotter. )

CONGRATULATIONS! That's an achievement worth celebrating. Overdrafts are a very useful, but very dangerous tool, simply because their charging structures are needlessly complicated and fearsomely expensive.

“

Been MIA on here lately. This is due to a) working lots of O/T shifts (knackered now, but will be worth it when it all comes in) and b) the weather is too nice to be sat in on the PC

Ah, I hadn't noticed. Our internet connection at site got knocked out by a storm, took ages to repair, and was then painfully slow until a couple of microwave towers got rebuilt. Only got fully back on line this last week.

The joy of fully automating everything is that there were exactly zero surprises. Everything was where it was supposed to be, to the last penny. Gone are the days of having bounce imaginary money from account to account...

“

I often speak of the mental side of debt, as it intrigues me, but until the last few days I hadn't considered how the weather can affect mental wellbeing. With the weather being so glorious the last few days, I've felt very happy, contented and generally calm. It got me thinking, that it can only be the weather. Nothing else has changed, and if anything, I've worked more with the overtime shifts so should really be more tired. Anyway, long may it last. Financially, everything is positive, life is good and we're on the way to being debt free soon (ish). We've spoken of longer term plans and agree that once debt free, we should be planning to secure our long term future (pensions, savings etc.). Very calming to know we're on the same page and agree that we need to be balanced between living life now and preparing for the future.

I think you underestimate the relationship between control and mental health. Look back on your "YOLO" days with a dispassionate eye and tell me that the feeling of being out of control wasn't stressful, truthfully now.

Of course, we should all get outside more - Vitamin Sunlight is a fantastic medicine, and humans were never designed to pilot desks all day

“

I suppose one advantage of being in debt (if there is such a thing) is that we've never actually lived off my full wage and we've still been able to have fun times, enjoy life and not worry TOO much about money

Ooh, that's dangerous thinking. Technically, you lived off more than your full wage for a long time, and have only recently started living off less than your full wage recently, as you started to rein it in. That it feels better to live off less should say something about empty consumerism... but as I work in oil, I'd be very grateful if everyone bought more plastic tat, at least until I retire

Ooh, that's dangerous thinking. Technically, you lived off more than your full wage for a long time, and have only recently started living off less than your full wage recently, as you started to rein it in. That it feels better to live off less should say something about empty consumerism... but as I work in oil, I'd be very grateful if everyone bought more plastic tat, at least until I retire

Ah, I see where you're coming from there. I actually meant with the job i'm in currently. Obviously we lived beyond our means in the past, during a time of MUCH lower income. With this job, the first thing I did was up my pension contributions to 10% (now it's at 15%). Then it was on to saving for a house with a little bit of debt busting. Mortgage secured, it was time to overpay (to the tune of around £200 p/m) to get the LTV down under 90% quick, sharp (2 year fix, wanted a better rate next time round) with a smidge of debt busting. LTV down to 85% (very pleasing from starting at 95% 2 years earlier) it was full on LBM. That's when everything went full on debt busting.

So, as you can see, we've never had THIS wage fully available. As a result, we're well used to living of a lot less, whilst still being comfortable and happy. Bodes well for the future in that we could feasibly save a good chunk, once the debts are gone, and still have a little bit of extra fun money left over. Fingers crossed anyway. I have big plans of not working until we're old and decrepit. 58 sounds like a nice number

CONGRATULATIONS! That's an achievement worth celebrating. Overdrafts are a very useful, but very dangerous tool, simply because their charging structures are needlessly complicated and fearsomely expensive.

Very true. As the FD OD is interest free for the first £250, I've left that facility available (£250 that is) for emergencies only. We've been doing this long enough now that i trust us not to see this as available cash. So far, so good. It helps that i now use my spreadsheet "available" balance, rather than what the bank says is available. That account is for bills only anyway. The debit card was cut up as soon as it arrived. If funds are needed, I have to go online and transfer them, so no chance of mindless spending. As an aside, this months bills money has meant that we satisfied the switching bonus criteria. £100 will be winging it's way to us shortly

“

I think you underestimate the relationship between control and mental health. Look back on your "YOLO" days with a dispassionate eye and tell me that the feeling of being out of control wasn't stressful, truthfully now.

Of course, we should all get outside more - Vitamin Sunlight is a fantastic medicine, and humans were never designed to pilot desks all day

Very true. I've spoken of the mental effects of having control before. It's a massive contributor to a sense of contentment (for me anyway). You are also correct with regards to the "YOLO" days. Short term gratification turns into guilt and despair at the worsening situation.
I stand by my comment about the sunshine though Shift working plays havoc with sleep patterns, but the days off are well worth it (not to mention shift allowance ). There's something very satisfying and calming about spending a Monday morning sitting in the sunshine with the first coffee of the day.

Didn't want to read and run so just ducking in to say hello and well done on the debt busting. I recently got rid of my overdraft too, such a significant milestone and very encouraging to see your bank account in credit for a change. Good job!

Also loving the Fallout analogy. Funny.

Also to say, you don't sound like your bragging or boasting at all. £25k debt starting point is serious and you're clearly working hard to get rid of it. Keep going, you're inspiring.

Ah, I see where you're coming from there. I actually meant with the job i'm in currently. Obviously we lived beyond our means in the past, during a time of MUCH lower income. With this job, the first thing I did was up my pension contributions to 10% (now it's at 15%). Then it was on to saving for a house with a little bit of debt busting. Mortgage secured, it was time to overpay (to the tune of around £200 p/m) to get the LTV down under 90% quick, sharp (2 year fix, wanted a better rate next time round) with a smidge of debt busting. LTV down to 85% (very pleasing from starting at 95% 2 years earlier) it was full on LBM. That's when everything went full on debt busting.

So, as you can see, we've never had THIS wage fully available. As a result, we're well used to living of a lot less, whilst still being comfortable and happy. Bodes well for the future in that we could feasibly save a good chunk, once the debts are gone, and still have a little bit of extra fun money left over. Fingers crossed anyway. I have big plans of not working until we're old and decrepit. 58 sounds like a nice number

Well done for clearing the overdraft and I get your thinking about you having more choices once the debt is gone. I do think the sunny weather helps with mental well being but it is probably more the feeling of being in control of your finances. 58 is a good number. Both DH and I retired at that age. We aimed for 60 and went two years early as we could afford to do so. 15% into your pension is awesome.

Early retired in December 2017

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